Claymore and Dagger (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"Belle an' Boar's side 'ave 'em pretty much covered, lass. With Katya an' Timmal, who've worked 'ere on an' off fer years, they'll be alright. Marri alone could keep 'em fed fer a year. Yer helpin' while everyone else is changin' their schedules t'be able t'help. Al migh' not be in th'right state o' mind t'think about it, but 'e'll be grateful when this is over."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Then I guess I have no reason to procrastinate anymore." Fiona said softly as she saw Sam relax slightly. "Maybe...maybe tonight if you have nothing else to do, we can ride the drakes in the woods."

Fiona actually blushed as she said that, never having actually asked a man to do anything of the sort before. She really liked Sam, probably even loved him if she were perfectly honest with herself, and she did want to spend time with him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure I can manage tha'," Sam assured her with that rare, small smile. "I'll come by 'round closin' time. Til then, I've got patrols." He leaned in and kissed her cheek before stepping back at the call from his men that their task of unloading the wood cart was done. One man brought in a basket with extra blankets and some fresh vegetables that Julia had sent along.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona gave him a small smile of her own as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and went back to his duties. She wouldn't ever be able to pull Sam Ghis away from his duties, even for a bit of fun. It had been ingrained into him from an early age that his duties were important and he needed to do his best no matter what the task was. Fiona let him go as she went back into the bakery to help finish out the day.

She was working the front counter when Khelt finally reappeared. Her eyes caught his and she gave him a slight nod.

"You are well?" She asked him softly, having met him a time or two during her time on the streets.

 

[KieranSoares]

Khelt came to sit quietly at the counter, but out of the way of any customers that might come in. "Well as an old wolf can be," he murmured. "I'll be better if Valentina can make use of the things I brought her." No one knew why Khelt got invested in one mission or another, especially since he was forced to retire from his position as Sarah's main advisor and sometimes-assassin when an enemy to the isles grew too dangerous. He was still an advisor she spoke to often, but she tried to leave him be to enjoy himself and she rarely gave him any missions beyond the occasional trip to Edinburgh, Inverness, or London. Khelt simply did as he pleased and it often seemed he appeared when the royal families of the allied capitals needed help.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I have faith that Kayla will pull through and that little girl will be the picture of health very soon." Fiona said as she offered Khelt a scone from the case. "She still has a lot of time left with her boys as well. She wouldn't leave them behind."

 

[KieranSoares]

Khelt thanked her quietly for the scone before his golden-grey eyes fixed on her. "And what about you? I understand you were in quite a bit of trouble. My grandson nearly got in trouble himself, taking your side against Samuel. And yet you seem to have gotten rid of a serious threat to the town and the dragon. Odd things to happen around a former thief, Miss Blackstone." Of course he knew who she was. He seemed to know everything just like his grandson.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I did what I had to do." She said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You know that well. If a thief does not have honor, then they have nothing at all. The Ghis needed help and I provided it. It's as simple as that."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You know humility despite such stubborn pride," Khelt said with the slightest amused smile. "You remind me of Katherine in that respect."

 

[heartofcourage]

"When you're as poor as dirt, stubborn pride can make up for a lot." Fiona said with a shrug if her shoulders. "How is your girl? You haven't traveled with her in a while."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sarah saw fit to make her the regent of Monaghan until comes of age, after Stephen and Jessie passed. And with her new mate and a baby on the way, she hasn't done much traveling." Emily Aleister had married a handsome panther from the Hirim, one of only three of his kind, the others being his sisters. His name was Chekirpa, or Chek as most called him. "It seems both the young pairs in my family are off to make me feel even older."

 

[heartofcourage]

"She was always so attentive when she was around you. You can tell that she adores her father." Fiona said with a smile as Khelt told her that Emily had her own little life now, a cub on the way and a mate that adored her. "Do you think that Kayla and Andra will make it? I would hate to see Al if she doesn't."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The little girl... I'm sure she will. She can breathe and that's what's important, and Valentina has the most experience of anyone with such illnesses, even in children. As for Kayla... There's no medicine to make up for losing so much blood, and they still can't stop it completely. Not to mention she's got a fever that could put down an ox."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'd hate to see what happens if she doesn't make it. Her two boys are already frightened as can be." Fiona said softly as she thought about Lynn and Jaime and how pale they were when Boar led them out of the bakery that morning, the littlest one clinging to his grandfather while Lynn seemed to lose his Hope completely.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Aleister would hold things together just long enough for them all to grow up and find their own way. After that... He's the sort of man who'd give up and want to join Kayla." Khelt didn't know Aleister well but he could read the man like a book.

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona nodded slightly, letting out a soft sigh. It reminded her of her own parents, even if her father was a mean drunk.

"You wouldn't happen to know Oleg Olegsson, would you? A werefox from maths mainland." She murmured softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Your grandfather's name is Oleg Wegirsson," Khelt told her simply as if it were no great deal. "I don't know him, but he lives somewhere near Malmo. You might ask Luna Maliar's mate, Jan. He comes from Malmo."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Wegirsson?" Fiona asked with a stunned tone as if he had just torn her world apart. "And what about my father? Owen Blackstone? Do you know if he's alive or dead?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Wegir was his father's name. Scandinavians take their parents' names," Khelt explained. When she asked about Owen, he considered the name for a moment. "I don't know. I never heard he died, but I never had reason to keep watch on him. Oleg, however, is a tribal elder."

 

[heartofcourage]

"A tribal leader? He probably wouldn't want anything to do with a kit like me." She said softly, thinking on the life of the man that she had never known. "He disowned my mother when she went off with my father."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don't know much about it, but he disowned her for something they did. And Erygonians like Oleg's sort never blame children for their parents' wrongdoings. You should contact him. He probably doesn't even know you exist. It might do an old fox's heart some good to learn of lost family."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm afraid of what will happen if I do contact him." She said softly, looking down at the counter as if it were the most interesting thing in the world suddenly. "He's probably got enough to family around him. He wouldn't notice."

She had prepared so much for the worst that she was almost afraid to try.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Most werefolk- no, most people, are not like your father, Miss Blackstone. I remember him well. He got into a lot of trouble around here. Your people aren't like that."

 

[heartofcourage]

"My father was an alcoholic who destroyed his wife's life and his own because he wasn't strong enough to face his demons." Fiona murmured bitterly. "It's as simple as that. It's a shame that I had to bare the brunt of that addiction."

 

[KieranSoares]

"But you're a grown woman now with the chance to know real family beyond your grandfather. And if my opinion means anything to you, I know I would be glad to welcome a woman like you home. You ought to know who you're descended from before you make too many judgements about your family."